MelodyLea - nice 4 miles . So happy your girl is back on the road with you.

Ogr44 - good luck on your 5k - and how wonderful that your wife is 3 years post-chemo - so much to be thankful for.

85oneone - thank you for your service! And stay safe. What branch?

Just 2.5 miles this morning - I slept in (so indulgent) and have tons to do. I must have been focused on all the things I need to do this morning because, after factoring in a 1 min. stretch during each mile, I was flying: 10:45 for the first mile and 9:43 for the second. It may not be fast for some of you, but it's supersonic for me! The last 1/2 mile was pretty darn slow, though.

Woke up at 2 am Wednesday sick as the proverbial Canis lupus familiaris. Called in sick to work and went back to bed. Around 12 hrs later started feeling up to eating. Went to bed at 9, woke up at 5:30, no worse for wear! I put the bird on the smoker about 8:45. A few hours later I threw it in the oven to finish and went for a run. I thought it might be nice to run daily between now and New Years. Turned left out the door, figuring I'd run to the stoplight at the top of the hill, and then I could just run back home for a mile; or loop around the lake for a 3.2 mile run if I felt up to it. So I did, and turned in a leisurely 5k at 31:40; turned the oven off so the bird could rest, and showered for dinner. And now I'm going to nap. I may have eaten 750 calories at one sitting and I just can't do that anymore, lol!

Prepped the sweet potatoes, added all the dining area extra stuff, stuffed the turkey, put the bird in the oven, and had time to run my 5-mile loop from the house. Thought I was taking it easy, but checked the watch with about 1/2 mile to go and saw I had a chance to finally break 40 minutes on this route. Picked it up and rechecked it with around 1/4 mile left. Good chance. Did my best impression of a sprint up the final 100 yards and made it in 39:47.

It was a great day after that, too, as the whole family was over for Thanksgiving Day and I got to see my one-yr. old granddaughter walking around!!! The wife's new dessert recipe was delicious, too. Many, many reasons to give thanks.

85oneone.... Thank you so much for your service to our country.

Ogr44.... I was in Frankfurt for about 2 hours in 1974, on our way to our high school ski trip in Austria. Your wife is a warrior. Please give her my congratulations and best wishes.

Melody.... Glad to hear the pup is feeling strong, too. Afternoon/evening runs are more often than not the rule for my running. When I get out of work early enough, a couple handfuls of peanuts and a little hydration and I'm ready to go.

Ran 5.18 in 44 minutes this morning, then took dogs for 2 mile hike. Got home just in time to shower, make an apple pie, mashed potatoes and appetizers before heading out to sister-in law's. We just got home and it is after 11 PM. I had to log my run and read the posts.

Stay safe this Friday with all the crazy Black-Friday drivers on the roads!

Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.Confucius

To Hill and Back 4.25 mile race this morning. My first trail race (heck, my first trail run, really) up Horn Pond Mountain and back to the Y. Wow - what a view from the top! I believe it used to be a ski slope way back when. I walked most of the "hill" - lots of loose rock on the way up and at the very top of the trail it was solid rock. The woman in front of me was stuck - not sure where to place her feet and a little scared to scale the rock - so I passed her on the side and then gave her my hand to pull her up to the top. The rest was all down hill through lovely autumn woods past the pond.

Deb, I had my first trail race earlier this year and there were lots of places with broken rock where I didn't know how to get down safely. One of the most memorable parts of the race was the group of women I ended up with and how we helped each other up and down those huge hills and across the creeks. It was quite an experience. Congrats on your trail run and great job on giving a runner a hand. :-)

I miss you all and I'm glad to see y'all are still getting it in. Hope everyone had an awesome Thanksgiving. I haven't really been posting because I haven't really been running. I managed to get a few shorter distance runs in last week. Yesterday, I completed the Atlanta Thanksgiving Half Marathon. It was a hilly race. Started off cool but ended up with ideal running temps. I hadn't run double digits since the Marathon on 10/7, yet managed to finish in 1:54. That was surprising. I was worried leading up to the race and considered pacing with the 2:30 group, but figured I'd just run at a comfortable pace, have fun and just focus on finishing so I could feel less guilty about eating. lol I took it easy, ran comfortably, high-fived some kids and spectators and walked through all but one water station. I was at the race a couple of hours early because I also volunteered to help set up. I did that more out of selfishness though because the Atlanta Track Club gives out some awesome volunteer swag, so I earned a nice Thanksgiving Half Marathon fleece and got to meet some nice people. I also hung around for a while after I finished to cheer in some friends who were also running; some were completing their first half marathon. I had such a great time. Came home and made a German chocolate cake and banana pudding then I prettied myself up and headed over to my brother's for one of the best Thanksgiving feasts I've had in years! Great food and an awesome time with my family and some friends. So much to be thankful for. Considering the damage I did at yesterday's feast, I think a long run is in order for the morning. Trouble is, my lower body is so sore from yesterday's hills. I'll soak and see how I feel. I may hit the gym later too.

Run strong, run happy my friends and I'll be back soon to read all about it.

debm - Assisting a fellow runner at the risk of slowing your own time? You are an official Trail Head!

degregorious - Sounds brisk!

NRDgirl - nice time in the Half.

40 degrees and breezy, but bright sunshine. Shorts and short sleeves (but I wore gloves. Go figure!) Hill repeats up South Table, 5x1:00 (1:00 recovery) followed by the normal up and down of the hill for the next hour. About 7 miles, 70 minutes, an a BEAUTIFUL Black Shorts Friday!

I picked up a lightweight running jacket last weekend. C9 by Champion, sold at Target, has some really well made running gear for a decent price. Check them out.

My last run was... a new race PR for me! I've dropped 70 lbs since this time last year, and really just started running seriously in August of this year. I did a 5K Turkey Trot yesterday morning and finished in 29:48.7, a new PR by almost 3 minutes. I was so pleased! About to head to the gym this afternoon lest I feel guilty. Also registered today for my first 10K in February, looking forward to that one. It's a Cupid's Dash around Valentine's Day weekend - sounded like fun.

To Y with daughter #2 early for Zumba, which was cancelled! So we did some cardio machines and then played on rock wall and kids area dodgeball. After lunch took dogs on a run while DH and son rode bikes. When we got to grade school, set dogs loose. DH clocked the border collies at 22 mph sustained over 1/4 mile! We then headed into woods for a trail run for me, trail ride for them. Took a break to throw rocks and sticks in creek before running home. Weather sunny and in mid 50's. I wore capri tights but regretted it when legs got all scratched by thorn bushes. Great run for dogs and myself probably almost 3 miles, no time.

Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall.Confucius

Total of 8 miles tonight on TM workout, running intervals. 1:13:10 total time, with 2 mile warmup and 1/2 mile cooldown.

DebM..... You are a GREAT sport!!!

NRD and FrancessMom.... I just ate leftovers and you two are making me hungry again!!! Nice HM, NRD.

Rinkreb... You have done some VERY serious improvement in the past year, from 50 minutes to under 30!!! And a BIG congratulations on the weight loss!!

Coyote.... I checked out the Target near us in Maine last year, and they did have some pretty good deals on stuff, but I didn't really need any of it at that time. I'll have to check it out again next time I'm in that area.